Repositionable Art

Sometimes it’s easier (or just desirable) not to paint directly on the wall. When I painted the magpies for our Castle Bedroom, I was sitting at my work table instead of standing up on a ladder.

Have you ever stenciled something on your wall, then wished you could move it later, after you’ve rearranged the furniture? Would you like to paint something in the comfort of your own home studio, then install it in the client’s home afterward? Want to take some of your artwork with you when you move to your new home?

Here’s the solution: Stencil your design elements on cambric cloth, cut around them, then attach them to the wall with an art waxer. You now have movable, portable, re-positionable wall art!

I first learned of this method from The Mad Stencilist, Sheri Hoeger. All of the farm animals in Sheri’s mural below were painted on cambric and affixed with an art waxer.

This concept opens up all kinds of possibilities, like using your waxer to hang temporary holiday stenciling on the walls. Stenciler Lucy Hurst stenciled poinsettias for her Mother to display during the Christmas holidays. In my own home, there are painted penguins sliding down the stairs of my sunroom during the winter months. Once the season passes, the waxed canvas pieces can be rolled between sheets of wax paper or against the shiny side of freezer paper, and stored in a mailing tube.

And if you get tired of looking at a design in a particular location, you can move it to another room. My friend Lucy’s topiary has graced so many different walls in her home that her poor husband never knows where it will be when he gets home!

Watch for “Tips for Using the Daige Procote Hand Waxer“, coming next week…